Sharp Objects meets The Appeal in this ‘atmospheric and chilling’ (Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author) novel—based on a shocking true story—about a crime writer who risks everything as she investigates a decades-old mystery at a crumbling orphanage.
On a blistering summer day in 1968, nine-year-old Tommy vanishes without a trace from Coram House, an orphanage on the shores of Lake Champlain. Fifty years later, the opportunity to investigate his disappearance and the orphanage’s sinister history is just the break that struggling true crime writer Alex Kelley needs.
Arriving in Vermont for research, Alex grows obsessed with Tommy’s disappearance, then her investigation takes a harrowing turn with the discovery of a woman’s body in the lake. Alex is convinced this new death is somehow connected to Coram House’s dark past, even if Officer Russell Parker thinks she’s just desperate for a story. As the body count rises, Alex must prove that the key to finding the killer lies in a decades-old murder—or else she risks becoming the next victim herself.
Genre: Mystery
On a blistering summer day in 1968, nine-year-old Tommy vanishes without a trace from Coram House, an orphanage on the shores of Lake Champlain. Fifty years later, the opportunity to investigate his disappearance and the orphanage’s sinister history is just the break that struggling true crime writer Alex Kelley needs.
Arriving in Vermont for research, Alex grows obsessed with Tommy’s disappearance, then her investigation takes a harrowing turn with the discovery of a woman’s body in the lake. Alex is convinced this new death is somehow connected to Coram House’s dark past, even if Officer Russell Parker thinks she’s just desperate for a story. As the body count rises, Alex must prove that the key to finding the killer lies in a decades-old murder—or else she risks becoming the next victim herself.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"Atmospheric and chilling, Coram House reckons with both the long aftermath of violence and the hazards of writing true crime. It is an eerie, suspenseful mystery, sure to find readers among fans of Tana French." - Flynn Berry
"Coram House is the perfect thriller - the kind you race to finish and simultaneously hope will never end. It checked every box for me: relatable amateur sleuth; lush, gothic setting; mystery spanning from past to present; and - no small feat - a surprising, inevitable, perfectly satisfying ending. This debut marks the entrance of a thriller writer to watch. I can tell already I'll be following Bailey Seybolt the way I follow Tana French. I can't wait to see what she writes next." - Kate Brody
"A stunningly atmospheric, layered thriller written with a ton of heart. Bailey Seybolt combines spine-tingling suspense with a meaningful exploration of the search for truth. A powerful debut that kept me guessing until the very last page." - Clémence Michallon
"Coram House is a twisty and compelling story that deftly traces how the impacts of crime and loss can creep down through the generations and spiral outward to those you least expect." - Tracy Sierra
"When ghostwriter Alex Kelley arrives in frigid Burlington, Vermont, to write a true crime book about a notorious orphanage, she's prepared for an investigation into its dark past - but Coram House isn't done with its victims yet. The murder of a local with ties to the orphanage opens a chasm of dangerous secrets and lies that compels Alex to risk her safety and career in a hunt for the truth. Combining a high-stakes mystery with atmospheric prose and an indelible story, this debut is not to be missed." - Tessa Wegert
"Coram House is the perfect thriller - the kind you race to finish and simultaneously hope will never end. It checked every box for me: relatable amateur sleuth; lush, gothic setting; mystery spanning from past to present; and - no small feat - a surprising, inevitable, perfectly satisfying ending. This debut marks the entrance of a thriller writer to watch. I can tell already I'll be following Bailey Seybolt the way I follow Tana French. I can't wait to see what she writes next." - Kate Brody
"A stunningly atmospheric, layered thriller written with a ton of heart. Bailey Seybolt combines spine-tingling suspense with a meaningful exploration of the search for truth. A powerful debut that kept me guessing until the very last page." - Clémence Michallon
"Coram House is a twisty and compelling story that deftly traces how the impacts of crime and loss can creep down through the generations and spiral outward to those you least expect." - Tracy Sierra
"When ghostwriter Alex Kelley arrives in frigid Burlington, Vermont, to write a true crime book about a notorious orphanage, she's prepared for an investigation into its dark past - but Coram House isn't done with its victims yet. The murder of a local with ties to the orphanage opens a chasm of dangerous secrets and lies that compels Alex to risk her safety and career in a hunt for the truth. Combining a high-stakes mystery with atmospheric prose and an indelible story, this debut is not to be missed." - Tessa Wegert
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Bailey Seybolt's Coram House